JMC Expert Directory

Pirjo Ahokas

Professor Emerita (Comparative Literature, University of Turku)

Email: piraho@utu.fi

• American Ethnic Minority Literatures (Jewish, African, Asian, and Native American)
• American Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
• Multiculturalism in the United States

Kimmo Ahonen

Ph.D. (European and World History, University of Turku)
Project Manager, Tampere University Pori Unit

Tel.: +358 40 826 2735
Email: kimmo.ahonen@tuni.fi

• U.S. History, Politics, and Culture
• Film History
• Anti-Communism in American Politics and Culture
• Science Fiction
• The History of U.S. Presidential Elections

Rani-Henrik Andersson 

Ph.D. (History, University of Tampere), Title of Docent (North American Studies, University of Helsinki)
University Researcher, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Department of Cultures, University of Helsinki
Senior University Lecturer, North American Studies, Department of Cultures, University of Helsinki

Tel.: +358-50-323 3549
Email: rani-henrik.andersson@helsinki.fi

• U.S. History, Politics, and Culture
• Canadian History, Politics, and Culture
• Native Americans
• Environment
• 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

Nana Arjopalo

Ph.D. (English, University of Turku)
University Instructor; Team Leader, English and Intercultural Communication, Tampere University

Tel.: +358-50-598 4275
Email: nana.arjopalo@tuni.fi

• North American Literature and Culture
• South Asian American Fiction
• Contemporary Women Writers of the United States

Ina Batzke

M.A. (University of Münster)
Lecturer, English Department & Chair of American Studies, University of Münster, Germany
Freelance Translator/Editor

Email: inabatzke@uni-muenster.de

• Undocumented (Im)migration
• Border Studies
• Political Activism
• Testimonial Literature/Testimonio
• Latin American Literature

Katharine Bausch

Ph.D. (History, York University)
Assistant Professor, Gender & Women's Studies, Trent University, Ontario, Canada

Tel.: +1-705-748-1011
Email: katharinebausch@trentu.ca

• North American Gender and Race
• North American Social Movements
• North American Popular Culture

Diane Bélisle-Wolf

M.A.
Ph.D. Candidate, Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
University Lecturer, French language, French and Québec Cultural Studies and CanLit, Department of French Studies, University of Trier, Germany

Tel.: +49-261-952 2758
Email: dbelisle-wolf@web.de
belisle@uni-trier.de

• 9/11 Studies
• Canadian Literature/Studies
• Québec Studies / Littérature québécoise
• French and Francophone Literature
• U.S.–Canada Border Studies
• Comparative North American Studies
• U.S. Literature and Popular Culture
• Life Writing
• World Literature
• Acadian literature and culture

Eric Bergman

M.B.S. (Master of British Studies, Centre for British Studies, Humboldt University in Berlin)
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, Comparative Literature Unit, University of Helsinki

Tel.: +358-45-642 8299
Email: eric.bergman@helsinki.fi

• Mexican American / Chicano Literature, Culture, Society, and Politics
• Multiculturalism in the U.S.
• Finnish American Culture

Jørn Brøndal

Ph.D. (U.S. History, University of Copenhagen)
Professor and Chair, Center for American Studies, University of Southern Denmark

Tel.: +45-6550-2190
Email: brondal@sdu.dk

• History and Politics
• African American History
• Ethnic History
• History of Scandinavian Migration to the U.S.
• Reform Movements in U.S. History
• Presidential History

Albion M. Butters

Ph.D. (History of Religion, Columbia University)
Title of Docent, University of Turku
Senior Editor at Khyentse Vision Project

Tel.: +358-45-316 9363
Email: albion.butters@utu.fi

• Religion in the U.S.
• 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
• U.S. Popular Culture
• Comics
• Buddhism in the U.S.
• Buddhism in India and Tibet

Derrais (D.A.) Carter

Ph.D. (American Studies, University of Iowa)
Assistant Professor, Gender & Women's Studies, University of Arizona

Email: derraiscarter@gmail.com

• Black Popular Culture
• Black Masculinity
• African American History
• Black Sexuality
• Black Cultural Studies
• Black Queer Studies

Michael C. Coleman

Ph.D. (American History, University of Pennsylvania)
Professor Emeritus, Department of Languages (English), University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Tel.: +358-45-135 7177
Email: michael.coleman46@gmail.com

• Native American Histories and Cultures
• History of Cross-Cultural Education (esp. in comparative contexts)
• Language Changes in Finland and Ireland

Diana Cuéllar Ledesma

Ph.D. (Artistic, Literary and Cultural Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
Exhibitions Manager, Casa de México en España

Tel.: +34-620-98 7503
Email: diana.cledesma@gmail.com

• Contemporary Mexican Arts and Culture
• Indigenous Movements and Subjectivities in Latin America
• Indigenous Feminism in Latin America
• Indigenous Presence in Latin American Arts and Visual Culture
• Representation of Gender/Ethnicity in Latin American Cinema and Visual Culture
• Dialectics of Modernity in Latin America (Globalisation, Urban Immigration and “Mutant” Subjectivities)

Kimmo Elo 

D.Soc.Sci. (Political Science, University of Turku), Title of Docent (University of Jyväskylä)
Senior Researcher, Centre for Parliamentary Studies, University of Turku

Tel.: +358-2-215 4522
Email: kimmo.elo@utu.fi

• Relations between Europe and the U.S. since 1945
• Intelligence Studies
• The Cold War
• Computational Social Sciences
• Network Analysis and Network Theory

Maria Elo

D.Sci. (Economics, Åbo Akademi University)
Professor (The Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, University of Southern Denmark)
Professor (Department of Business & Management (DBM), University of Southern Denmark)
Professor (International Business & Entrepreneurship (IBE), University of Southern Denmark)

Tel.: +45 65 50 24 35
Email: melo@sam.sdu.dk

• Migration
• Diaspora
• Transnational entrepreneurship
• International entrepreneurship and -business
• Diaspora direct investments

Johannes Fehrle

Ph.D. (English, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)
Assistant Professor, North American Studies, University of Mannheim

Tel.: +49-621-181 3367
Email: fehrle@uni-mannheim.de

• The Western Genre (fiction and film)
• Adaptation Studies
• 20th Century Canadian Literature
• 20th and 21st Century U.S. Literature
• Digital Media (convergence culture, franchising, transmedia storytelling)
• Comics and Graphic Novels

Linda K. Fuller 

Ph.D., Professor Emerita (Communications, Worcester State University, U.S.A.)
Recipient of Fulbright awards to teach in Singapore and to do AIDS/HIV research in Senegal

Email: lfuller@worcester.edu

• Gendered Language of Sport
• Interpersonal/Intercultural Communication
• Media: Film History, Journalism, Emerging Technologies

Aaron Goings 

Ph.D. (History, Simon Fraser University)
Associate Professor of History, Saint Martin's University, USA
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Advanced Social Research, University of Tampere

Tel.: +358-50-437 7151
Email: aaron.goings@staff.uta.fi

• American Social and Labor History
• Social Movements
• Radicalism and Anti-radicalism
• Immigration History

Outi Hakola

Ph.D. (Media Studies, University of Turku)

Docent in Media Studies, University of Turku
Docent in Area and Cultural Studies, University of Helsinki 
Associate Professor in Communication Studies, University of Eastern Finland

Tel.: +358-50-413 3164
Email: outi.hakola@uef.fi

• U.S. Media (News media and social media)
• U.S. Audiovisual Popular Culture (film, television)
• Political comedy

Markus Heide

Ph.D. (Department of English and American Studies, Humboldt University Berlin)
Associate Professor, English Department / Institute of Translation Studies and Communication, University of Hildesheim, Germany
Affiliated Researcher, Swedish Institute for North American Studies (SINAS), Uppsala University, Sweden

Email: markus.heide@uni-hildesheim.de

• Comparative American Studies
• Latino/a Literatures and Cultural Production
• Travel Writing (15th–20th Century)
• Hemispheric American Studies
• Border Studies
• American and Canadian Film
• Popular Culture
• Race and Ethnicity

Niko Heikkilä

Ph.D. (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Cultural History and John Morton Center for North American Studies, University of Turku

Tel.: +358-44-380 3333
Email: njheik@utu.fi

• Contemporary U.S. History
• Social Conflicts and Movements in the U.S.

Benita Heiskanen

Ph.D. (American Studies, University of Texas at Austin), Title of Docent (American Studies, University of Turku; North American Studies, University of Helsinki) 
Professor of North American Studies & Director of the JMC, University of Turku

Tel.: +358-29-450 2205
Email: benita.heiskanen@utu.fi

• U.S. History, Society, and Culture
• Race and Ethnicity in the United States
• Latino/as in the United States
• U.S. Popular Culture and Sport (boxing)
• U.S.–Mexico Border Region
• Drug Wars and Femicide in Mexico
• U.S.–Cuba Relations
• Contemporary U.S. Politics

Markku Henriksson

D.Soc.Sci. (Political History, University of Helsinki), D.Lett., h.c. (Canadian Studies, York University, Toronto), Title of Docent (American and Canadian Studies, University of Tampere)
McDonnell Douglas Chair for American Studies Emeritus, University of Helsinki
Academic Visitor at the Aalto University School of Business Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research

Email: markku.henriksson@helsinki.fi

• North American History, Politics, Geography, and Art
• American and Canadian Studies
• Native American and First Nations History, Culture, and Politics
• Route 66
• Trans-Canada Highway

Erik Hieta

Ph.D. (History, University of California, Davis)

Tel.: +358-44-208 6030
Email: erik.hieta@gmail.com

• U.S. History
• The U.S. and the World since WWII
• Native American Studies
• Ethnographic Representation and Indigenous Peoples
• Finnish American Identities
• Migration and Ethnicity in the U.S.
• 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

Antero Holmila

Ph.D. (History, Royal Holloway, University of London)
Researcher, Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä
Transatlantic Studies Association

Tel.: +358-50-3097 643
Email: antero.holmila@jyu.fi

• U.S. Foreign Relations since 1898
• U.S. in WWII: Isolationism vs. Internationalism
• U.S. Congress and War
• Transatlantic Relations
• Geopolitics
• FDR Era & Presidency
• The Cold War and the Politics of Sport

Tuomas Hovi

Ph.D. (Folkloristics, University of Turku)
Docent in Folkloristics, University of Turku

Email: tuomas.hovi@utu.fi

• Finnish American Heritage and Tradition
• Identity Politics of Finnish Americans in the U.S.
• Authenticity
• Folklore

Aleksi Huhta

Ph.D. (European and World History, University of Turku)
Docent (European and World History, University of Turku) 
Researcher (Department of History, University of Helsinki)

Tel.: +358-40-757 5131
Email: alehuh@utu.fi

• Migration History
• Finnish American History

Reetta Humalajoki

Ph.D. (History, Durham University)
Academy Research Fellow, University of Turku

Tel.: +358 50 463 2986
Email: reetta.humalajoki@utu.fi

• Indigenous Studies
• Modern U.S. and Canadian History
• Political Activism and Social Movements
• Ethnicity, Race, and Identity
• Race in Popular Culture and Cultural Appropriation

Kaisa Ilmonen

Ph.D. (Comparative Literature, University of Turku)
Senior Lecturer, University of Turku
Title of Docent, School of History, Culture and Arts Studies, University of Turku
 

Email: kailmo@utu.fi

• Intersectionality
• Caribbean Women's Writing
• American-Caribbean Literatures
• Postcolonial Theory and Literatures
• Feminism, Queer, and Sexuality in Literature

Ling Jian-e

Ph.D. (English Language and Literature, Nanjing University)
Associate Professor, Hunan University of Science and Technology

Tel: +86-731-5829 1105
Email: lindalje@163.com

• Modernist American Theater
• Post-9/11 Literature
• Interculturation of Chinese and American Literature
• Women’s Studies
• U.S. Literature in Intellectual History

Pasi J. Kallio

Ph.D. (North American Studies, University of Helsinki)

Tel: +358-45-636 2366
Email: pasi.kallio@espoo.fi

• U.S. History (esp. cultural and intellectual import from Europe to the U.S., Southern History)
• Elites of the Southern States
• The American Civil War
• Sceptical Historiography
• Literary Theory and Semiotics (esp. narrative in history)

Kari Kallioniemi

Ph.D. (Cultural History, University of Turku), Title of Docent (History of Popular Culture, University of Turku)
Researcher, Department of History, Culture and Arts Studies, University of Turku
President, European Popular Culture Association

Tel: +358-45-260 7968
Email: kari.kallioniemi@utu.fi

• Anglo Actors and Hollywood Stardom
• Post-War American Popular Music
• The First and Second British Invasions in the U.S.
• U.S. Popular Culture and Psychedelia
• Anglomania and Anglophobia in the U.S.
• Transatlantic Popular Culture

Suvi Karila

M.A. (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Ph.D. Candidate, Cultural History, University of Turku

Email: suvi.karila@utu.fi

• Nonreligion (Atheism, Unbelief, Irreligion) in the U.S.
• Gender and Nonreligion

Saara Kekki

Ph.D. (North American Studies, University of Helsinki)
Title of Docent, Area and Cultural Studies, University of Helsinki
Academy Research Fellow, University of Helsinki

Tel: +358-44-379 3007
Email: saara.kekki@helsinki.fi
Website: saarakekki.fi

• Japanese American and Japanese Canadian Incarceration in WWII
• Ethnic Relations in the U.S. and Canada
• Indigenous Environmental Stewardship
• Quantitative Historical Research
• Digital Humanities

Pekka Kilpeläinen

Ph.D. (English Language and Culture, University of Eastern Finland)
University Lecturer, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu

Tel: +358-50-327 5759
Email: pekka.a.kilpelainen@uef.fi

• African American Literature and Culture
• Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the U.S.
• James Baldwin
• Ideology and Utopia
• Cultural Memory
• Transculturation

Anna Koivusalo

Ph.D. (History, University of Helsinki)
Postdoctoral Researcher, History, University of Helsinki

Email: anna.koivusalo@helsinki.fi

• Nineteenth-century American History
• Southern United States
• Civil War and Reconstruction

Jani Kokko

M.A. (History, University of Jyväskylä)
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä

Tel: +358 50 341 2860
Email: Jani.t.kokko@student.jyu.fi

• U.S. Elections and Political System
• U.S. Presidency
• American Values
• U.S. National Security Policy

Pekka Kolehmainen

Ph.D. (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS) and the John Morton Center for North American Studies.

Email: pmkole@utu.fi

• Cultural History of the 1980s in the U.S.
• Popular Music, Popular Culture, and Audiovisual Media
• Censorship and Culture Wars
• Digital Culture and Game Studies

Tuula Kolehmainen

Ph.D., Department of Languages (English Philology), University of Helsinki
University Instructor of English, Tampere University

Email: dr.tuula@gmail.com

• African American Literature and culture
• Race, masculinity, and vulnerability in US popular culture
• Stand-up comedy and humor studies
• Gender and men’s studies

Janne Korkka

Ph.D. (English, University of Turku)
Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Turku
Coordinator, North American Studies Programme, University of Turku

Tel: +358 29 450 3322
Email: jkorkka@utu.fi

• Canadian Literature
• Indigenous Peoples in Canadian and U.S. Literature
• Space and Place in Literature
• The Arctic in Literature
• Writings of the Canadian Prairie

Auvo Kostiainen

Ph.D. (University of Turku), Title of Docent (Travel History, University of Lapland; General History, University of Tampere)
Professor Emeritus, Department of European and World History, University of Turku

Tel: +358 40 517 4313
Email: aukosti@utu.fi

• History of Ethnicity and Migration
• Finns in North America and the Soviet Union
• Radical Ethnic Groups in the U.S.
• John Morton
• History of Multiculturalism
• History of Travel and Tourism

Kryštof Kozák

Ph.D. (International Studies, Charles University)
Department of American Studies, Institute of International Studies, Charles University, Prague

Tel: +420 251 080 449, +421 251 080 250
Email: kozak@fsv.cuni.cz, krystofkozak@gmail.com

• U.S.–Mexico Bilateral Relations
• North American Economic Integration and Globalization (esp. the effects on public policy in Mexico and the U.S.)
• Legal and Illegal Migration from Mexico to the U.S.
• Drug Trafficking as a Problem of National and International Politics
• Asymmetric Collective Memory in Mexico and the U.S.

Anna Kronlund

Ph.D. (Political Science, University of Jyväskylä)
University lecturer in political science, Department of Philosophy, contemporary history and political science, University of Turku

Email: anna.kronlund@utu.fi

• U.S. politics
• U.S. political system and separation of powers
• U.S. Congress
• U.S. and multilateral cooperation and international organizations

Zuzanna Kruk-Buchowska

Ph.D. (Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland)
Assistant Professor, Canadian Literature Research Unit, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

Email: zuzana@amu.edu.pl

• Native American Studies
• Indigenous Australian Studies
• Indigenous Food Sovereignty
• Transnationalism
• Indigenous Education (boarding school history, higher education)

Elizabeth Kuebler-Wolf

Ph.D. (American Studies, Art History, Indiana University Bloomington)
Associate Professor, University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Tel: +1 260 433 1829
Email: ekueblerwolf@sf.edu

• Antebellum South
• Images of Slaves and Slavery
• Proslavery and Abolitionist Rhetoric
• American Art History (from colonial time to present)

Sonja Kuosmanen

M.A. (English Philology, University of Helsinki)
Doctoral Student, Department of Modern Languages, University of Helsinki

Email: sonja.kuosmanen@helsinki.fi

• Political Language and Discourse in the U.S.
• Rhetoric of the President of the United States
• U.S. Foreign Policy Discourse
• Political Discourse in the U.S. Media

Katariina Kyrölä

Ph.D. (Media Studies, University of Turku)
Docent, School of History, Culture and Arts Studies

Email: jokaky@utu.fi

• Gender, Sexuality and “Race” in U.S. Popular Culture
• Feminist Theories of the Body
• Fat Studies and Media Representations
• LGBTQ Issues in the U.S.
• Feminist Studies of Horror and Pornography
• American B-Movies, Reality TV and Tabloid Culture

Jere Kyyrö

Ph.D. (Study of Religion, University of Turku)
M.Soc.Sc. (Sociology, University of Tampere)
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki

Email: jere.kyyro@helsinki.fi

• Civil Religion Debate in North America
• Sociology of Religion, Sociological and Anthropological Theories of Religion
• Religion and Media; Media Rituals
• Critical Study of Religion
• Images of The Frontier and Apocalypse in Science Fiction Films and Television

Lotta Kähkönen

Ph.D. (Comparative Literature, University of Turku)
Docent in Comparative Literature and Gender Studies 
Lecturer in Educational Sciences (media inclusivity and equality), University of Lapland
Research Fellow, Gender Studies, University of Turku

Tel: +358 40 627 5414
Email: lotta.kahkonen@ulapland.fi, lotkah@utu.fi

• Trans Cultural Production in North America
• Trans Studies and Queer Theory
• Activism by Trans and Queer Communities

Kimi Kärki

Ph.D. (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Lecturer (Cultural Study of Music, Sibelius Academy, Uniarts Helsinki, Seinäjoki Campus)
Cultural Heritage Studies, University of Turku Cultural and Area Studies, University of Helsinki)
President: European Popular Culture Association

Tel: +358 50 534 4697
Email: kierka@utu.fi

• Popular Music and Stadium Rock Performance
• Music Industry and Touring
• Digital Gaming, Violence and Political Satire
• Conspiracy Theories, Satanism and Paganism
• Blockbuster and Horror Films
• Study of Fascism

Janne Lahti

Ph.D. (General History, University of Helsinki), Adjunct Professor (Title of Docent) in General History (University of Helsinki)
Senior Researcher, Linnaeus University
Chief Editor, Settler Colonial Studies

Tel: +358 40 744 275
Email: janne.lahti@helsinki.fi

• U.S. History, Society, and Culture
• American West
• Colonialism and Empire
• Borderlands
• Native Americans
• Race, Ethnicity (Whiteness), and Gender (Masculinity)
• American Film
• Military History
• Nordic Colonialism
• Global History

Otto Latva

Ph.D. (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Research Associate, Åbo Akademi University
University Lecturer (Degree Programme in Digital Culture, Landscape and Cultural Heritage), University of Turku
Title of Docent (More-than-human History), University of Turku
PI: Disappeared, Endangered and Newly Arrived Species: The Human Relationship with the Changing Biodiversity of the Baltic Sea (Academy of Finland, 2021-2025)

Tel: +358 50 328 9846
Email: otto.latva@utu.fi

• Historical Conceptions of the Ocean and Deep Sea
• Nature and the Sea in North American Culture
• Human–Animal and Human–Plant Studies
• Environmental History and Biodiversity
• History of Science (Zoology, Ocean, Deep-Sea Exploration)
• History of Wonder and Monsters
• History of the Newfoundland Region

Kwangjin Lee

Ph.D. (American Studies, University of Texas at Austin)
Assistant Professor, English Language and Literature, Soongsil University
Seoul, South Korea

Tel: +82 2 820 0339
Email: pynchon69@gmail.com

• American Literature (Realism and Naturalism)
• U.S. Business History (Large Corporations)
• Management and Organizational Behavior

Johanna Leinonen

Ph.D. (History, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis)
Senior Researcher, Migration Institute of Finland

Tel: +358 40 534 0078
Email: johlei@utu.fi

• Modern U.S. History
• Migration History, the United States and Finland
• Race and Ethnicity in the United States and in Finland
• Transnationalism, in particular Transnational Families
• Gender History
• Finnish Emigration History
• Interdisciplinary Research

Juha Meriläinen 

Ph.D. (Common Church History, University of Helsinki)
Committee Secretary, Church Administration / Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

Tel: +358 44 537 0878
Email: juha.merilainen@helsinki.fi

• Religious History in the U.S.
• American Lutheranism
• Religion and the Cold War
• The Ecumenical Movement
• American Churches and Post-WWII Reconstruction
• Civil Religion
• Finnish-American Immigrants
• Religion and Identity
• Narrative Methods

Sini Mononen

M.A. (Musicology, University of Helsinki)
Ph.D. Candidate, Musicology, University of Turku

Tel: +358 40 410 3160
Email: siinmo@utu.fi

• Music and Violence
• Film Music and Sound
• Stalking Studies
• Representations of Violent Experience

Teemu Mäkinen

M.Soc.Sci. (Political Science, University of Jyväskylä)
Ph.D. Candidate, School of Management / Political Science, University of Tampere

Tel: +358 40 737 0967
Email: makinen.teemu.p@student.uta.fi

• U.S. Congress and Presidency
• U.S. Congress in American Foreign Policy
• Partisanship and Political Polarization
• U.S. Electoral Politics
• U.S. Constitution and Political System

Nadia Nava Contreras

M.A.
Kone Foundation Researcher, JMC, University of Turku
Ph.D. Candidate, Political History, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

Tel: +358 44 333 9767
Email: nadia.navacontreras@helsinki.fi

• Mexican Foreign Policy (20th and 21st Centuries)
• The Interamerican System and Latin America in the United Nations
• Public Diplomacy and National Imaginaries
• Transnational History

Hải Nguyễn

M.A. (English, University of Turku)
Ph.D. Candidate, English, University of Turku

Email: hlhngu@utu.fi

• Representations of North American Racial and Ethnic Minorities
• Discourses of Race and Racism in the U.S.
• Asian American Studies
• U.S. Popular Culture

Jari Nikkola

M.A. (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Ph.D. Candidate, European and World History, University of Turku

Tel: +358 40 566 0405
Email: jari.nikkola@utu.fi

• Immigration History
• Late Generation European-American Ethnicity
• Late Generation American Finns
• Interethnicity of the Upper Midwest
• Sociology of Acculturation and Ethnicity

Joel Nyman

M.A. (History, University of Jyväskylä)
Doctoral researcher, Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä

Tel: +358 40 072 0056
Email: joel.j.nyman@jyu.fi

• Modern U.S. history
• U.S. Political History
• Interwar history
• Congressional Studies & parliamentarism
• U.S. Foreign Policy & International Relations

Jopi Nyman

Ph.D. (English, University of Joensuu), D.Soc.Sci. (Sociology, University of Joensuu)
Professor of English, University of Eastern Finland

Tel: +358 50 442 3199
Email: jopi.nyman@uef.fi

• U.S. Literature and Popular Culture
• Race and Ethnicity in American Literature
• American Ethnic Literature
• American Cultural Studies
• Human–Animal Studies
• Migration, Mobility and Globalization in Literature

Petri Paju

Ph.D. (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Docent (Adjunct Professor) in Cultural History of Technology, University of Turku

Email: petpaju@utu.fi

• History of Computing
• History of Technology
• History of Multinational Business (esp. IBM)
• U.S. Business in Europe (after WWII)
• Digital History
• Finnish-American immigrant press

Justin Parks

Ph.D. (English, State University of New York at Buffalo)
Associate Professor of American Literature and Culture, University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway

Email: justin.parks@uit.no

• American Literature and Cultural Studies
• Poetry and Poetics
• Anglophone Modernism
• The Great Depression
• Environmental and Energy Humanities

Anna Pehkoranta

Ph.D. (Literature, University of Jyväskylä)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä

Tel: +358 40 739 0965
Email: anna.m.pehkoranta@jyu.fi

• Asian North American Literature and Criticism
• Ethnic Minority Literatures in the U.S.
• Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary American Fiction and Criticism
• Transnational and Postcolonial Fiction and Theory
• Feminist, Ecocritical, and Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism
• Affectivity and Experimentality in Contemporary Asian American Literature

Rosemary Pennington

Ph.D. (Indiana University)
Associate Professor, Department of Media, Journalism and Film, Miami University

Tel: +1 513 529 3460
Tel (mobile): +1 812 327 3953
Email: penninrm@miamioh.edu

• American Journalism
• Muslims and Media
• Minorities and Media
• New Media & Society

Nicole Perry

Ph.D. (Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto)
Senior Lecturer in German and Comparative Literature, University of Auckland
Assistant Dean, Research
Specialization Lead Comparative Literature and MLITT
UG Adviser, Comparative Literature
CLL Representative, Board of Gender Studies
NCEA Review Panel European Languages, German Tertiary Representative
Advisory Board, Europe Institute
Associate Editor, German: The William F. Cody Papers
Co-director, Research Centre for Germanic Connections to New Zealand and the Pacific
Co-editor, Germanica Pacifica Series

Email: nicole.perry@univie.ac.at

• German/Native American Relations
• North American Indigenous Art
• North American Indigenous Film
• German Immigrants to North America
• German in the Pacific

Saijaleena Rantanen

DMus, M.A. (Music History, Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki)
Professor, Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki
Title of Docent (Musicology, University of Helsinki)

Tel: +358 40 710 4200
Email: saijaleena.rantanen@uniarts.fi

• Music History of Migrants (North America, Finland, and Soviet Karelia)
• Migration History (North America, Finland, and Soviet Karelia)
• Music and Society
• Cultural History of Music
• Transnationalism
• Interdisciplinary Research

Paola Raunio

Ph.D. (International Relations, University of St. Andrews)
Assistant Professor, Homeland Security Program, Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Email: paola.raunio@gmail.com

• U.S. Foreign Policy
• The Role of the U.S. in the Middle East
• U.S.–Iran Relations
• American In/Security Policies
• Human Rights
• Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in U.S. Foreign Policy
• Feminist and Postcolonial Theory

Anju Reejhsinghani

Ph.D. (History, The University of Texas at Austin)
Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion;Chief Diversity Officer, University of California, Santa Cruz 

Email: anjureej@ucsc.edu

• Race, Gender, and Transnational Sport
• Latin American/Latinx Studies
• Asian and African Diasporas in the Americas
• Modern Cuba and U.S.–Cuba Relations
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in U.S. Higher Education

María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Cadena

Ph.D. (University of Michigan)
Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX
Chair of Spanish, Department of Modern Languages

Tel: +1 512 966 4355
Email: rodrigua@southwestern.edu

• Cultural Memory in Mexico
• Contemporary Mexican and Latin American Literature and Culture
• Historical Fiction in Literature, Film, and Television
• Mexican Film and Women Directors
• Environmental Humanities in Latin America
• Leisure and Play in Latin America

Matti Roitto

Ph.D. (General History, University of Jyväskylä)
Senior Researcher, Industrial Union

Tel: +358 40 542 3904
Email: matti.roitto@jyu.fi

• Anglo-American Relations (political history, foreign policy, international relations)
• Anglo-American Atomic Cooperation and Nuclear Weapons (esp. 1940s)
• Early Cold War

Leena-Maija Rossi

Ph.D. (Art History and Women's/Gender Studies, University of Helsinki)
Title of Docent (Visual Culture, University of Turku; Gender Studies and Art History, University of Helsinki)
Professor, Gender Studies, University of Lapland

Tel: +358 40 528 8903
Email: leena-maija.rossi@ulapland.fi

• Intersectional Study of Genders and Sexualities
• Queer Studies
• Visual Culture (Media and Contemporary Art)
• U.S. Popular Culture: Film, Television, Internet Series

Markku Ruotsila

Ph.D. (History, University of Cambridge)
Adjunct Professor (Docent), North American Church History, University of Helsinki
Adjunct Professor (Docent), American and British History, University of Tampere
Research Fellow and Visiting Professor, LCC International University

Tel: +358 50 431 8747
Email: markku.ruotsila@helsinki.fi

• U.S. History, Society, and Politics
• Religion and Politics in the U.S.
• The Republican Party, Christian Right, and U.S. Conservatism
• Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism (U.S. and worldwide)
• Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy
• Socialism and the Religious Left in the U.S.
• U.S. Presidential Elections and History
• U.S. Anticommunism and the Cold War
• Transnational History and U.S. Foreign Relations

Mikko Saikku

Ph.D. (North American Studies, University of Helsinki)
Title of Docent (North American Studies, University of Helsinki; Environmental History, University of Tampere)
Director, Helsinki Environmental Humanities Hub
McDonnell Douglas Professor of American Studies, University of Helsinki

Tel: +358 50 448 4075
Email: mikko.saikku@helsinki.fi

• North American History
• American Studies
• The American South
• Environmental Humanities

Sirpa Salenius

Ph.D. (English Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu)
Title of Docent (English-language Literature and Culture, University of Eastern Finland)
Habilitation à diriger des recherches (HDR, France)
Visiting Researcher (University of Helsinki)
Associate Researcher at ECHELLES (Paris, France)
External Affiliate (University College London Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation, London, UK)

Tel: +39 333 2142465
Email: sirpa.salenius@gmail.com

• North American Literature
• North American Culture and Society
• Gender Studies
• Critical Race Studies
• Spatial Studies

Hannu Salmi

Ph.D. (General History, University of Turku) 
Professor, Department of Cultural History, University of Turku

Tel: +358 29 450 3419
Email: hansalmi@utu.fi

• Film and Media History
• History of Popular Culture
• Hollywood Cinema
• American and European Cultural Relations

Samira Saramo

Ph.D. (History, York University)
Title of Docent (Cultural History, University of Turku)
Senior Research Fellow, Migration Institute of Finland

Email: samira.saramo@migrationinstitute.fi

• Canadian History
• Finns in North America
• North American Migration History
• Place-Making and Community-Building
• Emotions and Senses
• Place-Making and Community-Building
• North American Environmental Humanities
• Life Stories and Memory
• Emotions and Senses
• Socialism in Canada and the United States
• North American Settler Colonialism

Heikki Saxén

Ph.D. (History and Bioethics, University of Tampere)
Researcher, Bioethics, University of Tampere

Tel: +358 40 756 8485
Email: heikki.saxen@gmail.com

• Bioethics
• Medical Ethics
• Research Ethics
• History of Bioethics
• Political Philosophy (John Rawls, Judith Shklar)

Lydia Schoeppner

Ph.D. (Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Manitoba, Canada)
Teaching Assistant Professor, Conflict Resolution Studies, Canadian Mennonite University / University of Winnipeg

Email: lschoeppner@cmu.ca

• Indigenous/Inuit Peacemaking and Research Methodologies
• Conflict Transformation
• Conflict and Culture
• Inuit Culture, Society, and Traditional Knowledge (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit)
• Hybrid Peace, Everyday Peace, Peaceful Societies
• Colonization and Decolonization in the Arctic
• Environmental Conflict and Climate Change

Mila Seppälä

M.A. (English, University of Turku)
Doctoral Researcher, Political Science and North American Studies, University of Turku

Tel: +358 400 841 363
Email: mitase@utu.fi

• U.S. Politics
• Youth Activism and Social Movements
• Gun Violence and Legislation
• The Left in the U.S.
• Police Violence and Use of Force Legislation

Mark Shackleton

Ph.D. (American Literature, University of Helsinki)
Docent Emeritus (English Literature, University of Helsinki)

Tel: +358 50 402 8941
Email: mark.shackleton@helsinki.fi

• Native North American Writing
• Postcolonial Literatures
• Trickster Literatures
• Transcultural and Transnational Adoption

Elina Siltanen

Ph.D. (English, University of Turku & Luleå University of Technology, double degree)
University Lecturer (English Language and Culture), University of Eastern Finland

Email: elina.siltanen@uef.fi

• U.S. literature
• Recent and Contemporary U.S. Poetry (e.g. Language Writing, Conceptual Poetry)
• Experimental Poetry
• Reading for emotion
• Literary Criticism
• Ecopoetry

Hilma Sormunen

M.Soc.Sci (Political Science, University of Turku)
Doctoral Candidate, Political Science, University of Turku (from 2020)

Tel: +358 44 594 8391
Email: hrsorm@utu.fi

• Critical Discourse Analysis
• Rhetoric in U.S. Presidential Addresses (George W. Bush and Barack Obama)

Stephanie Sparling Williams

Ph.D. (American Studies, University of Southern California)
John Walsh Fellow, Yale University Art Gallery

Email: stephanie.sparlingwilliams@yale.edu

• African American Studies
• Visual Culture Studies
• Art History
• Black and Diaspora Studies
• Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Museum Studies
• Phenomenology

Frida Stranne

Ph.D. (Peace and Development Studies, University of Gothenburg)
Associate Professor, Peace and Development Studies
Senior Lecturer in Political Science, University of Halmstad

Email: frida.stranne@hh.se

• History of U.S. Foreign Policy
• Core ideas in US security and foreign policy strategy
• Democracy in the US
• Think tanks and lobbying in US politics

Sanna Suomi

M.A. (Folkloristics, University of Turku)
Ph.D. Candidate, Folkloristics, University of Turku

Email: sklepp@utu.fi

• Finnish Immigrants in the United States
• U.S. Finnish Women's Writing
• Life Writing
• Folklore and Personal Experience Narrative

Airnel Talatala Abarra

M.Sc., Ph.D. (Cand.)
Head Coach in Athletics (Track & Field), Office of Athletics, Ateneo de Davao University
Doctoral School of Sport Sciences, Hungarian University of Sport Science, Budapest, Hungary

Email: atabarra@addu.edu.ph, airnel.abarra@tf.hu

• Athletics
• Bodybuilding
• Sport and Society
• Physical Culture
• Philippine–U.S. Relations

Phil Tiemeyer

Ph.D. (American Studies, University of Texas at Austin)
Associate Professor of History, Department of History, Kansas State University, USA

Tel: +1 314 570 7949
Email: tiemeyerp@ksu.edu

• LGBTQ Issues
• Civil Aviation Issues (Airlines)

Gyorgy Tóth

Ph.D. (American Studies, University of Iowa)
Lecturer in History, Division of History, Heritage and Politics, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Stirling

Tel: +44 1786 467 573
Email: gyorgy.toth@stir.ac.uk

• 20th Century (esp. post-1945 U.S. history)
• Transatlantic Cultural Relations and Social Movements
• U.S. Transnational Relations
• American Indian History
• U.S. and European Public History and Memory

Juho Turpeinen

M.A. (Area and Cultural Studies, University of Helsinki)
Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki
Doctoral Programme of Political, Societal, and Regional Change

Tel: +358 40 707 3669
Email: juho.turpeinen@helsinki.fi

• Political Theory
• Neoliberalism
• Populism
• Conservatism
• Social Media
• Land Use

Alf Tomas Tønnessen

Ph.D. (North-American Area Studies, University of Oslo)
Associate Professor of American Civilization / English, University of Agder, Norway

Tel: +47 70 075 456
Email: alf.t.tonnessen@uia.no

• U.S. Political History
• U.S. Domestic Policy
• The U.S. Conservative Movement
• The Republican Party
• U.S. Presidential Elections

Ave Ungro

M.A. (Spanish Philology, University of Tartu)
Latin American Studies, Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki

Tel: +372 5620 1110
Email: ave.ungro@helsinki.fi

• Contemporary Mexican Journalism
• Drug Wars in Mexico
• Discourse Studies
• Latin American Literary Journalism
• Latin American Literature

Elina Valovirta

Ph.D. (English, University of Turku)
Docent (Anglophone Literature, Feminist Research, University of Eastern Finland)
Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Turku

Email: elina.valovirta@utu.fi

• Anglophone Caribbean Women’s Writing
• Sexuality
• Emotions, Affects, and Affect Theory
• Feminist Reader Theory
• Cultural Studies
• Anglophone Global Culture

Vesa Vares

D.Soc.Sci. (Political History, University of Turku)
Docent (History of Ideologies and Society, University of Jyväskylä; Finnish History, University of Tampere; History of Ideologies and Political Parties, University of Turku)
Professor of Political History, University of Turku

Tel: +358 2 333 5368
Email: vesa.vares@utu.fi

• U.S. History and Society
• History of U.S. Presidents and Presidential Elections
• The Democratic Party
• The Republican Party
• Liberalism and Conservatism in the U.S.
• Representations of U.S. History in Film

Sarri Vuorisalo-Tiitinen

Ph.D. (Latin American Studies, University of Helsinki)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Part-time Teacher, Master’s Degree Programme in Intercultural Encounters, University of Helsinki

Email: sarri.vuorisalo-tiitinen@helsinki.fi

• Gender and Ethnicity in Latin America
• Indigenous Movements in Latin America
• Mexican Zapatista Movement
• Latin American Literature
• Rosario Castellanos and Mexican Indigenism
• Latin American Migration to the U.S. and Europe
• Latin Americans in Finland
• Bilingualism in Finland (Finnish–Spanish/Portuguese)
• Critical Discourse Analysis

Susanna Välimäki

Ph.D., Docent (Musicology, University of Helsinki)
Senior Lecturer in Musicology, University of Turku

Tel: +358 2 333 5218
Email: susanna.valimaki@utu.fi

• Contemporary American Music
• American Films and Film Music
• War Films
• Cultural Trauma Studies
• Political Art
• Queer Studies
• Ecomusicology and Ecocriticism
• Native American Film

Elizabeth Whitney

Ph.D. (Performance Studies, Popular Culture, and Communication, Southern Illinois University)

Email: ewhitney@bmcc.cuny.edu

• LGBTQ Media and Politics
• Queer and Feminist Arts
• Communication and Public Speaking

Oscar Winberg

Ph.D. (General History, Åbo Akademi University)
Postdoctoral Researcher, John Morton Center for North American Studies, University of Turku

Tel: +358 40 575 4027
Email: owinberg@abo.fi

• Modern U.S. History
• U.S. Presidential Elections
• U.S. Political History
• U.S. Media History
• Political Journalism
• Political Entertainment

Judy Tzu-Chun Wu

Ph.D. (History, Stanford University)
Professor, Departments of History and Asian American Studies, University of California, Irvine
Faculty Director, Humanities Center
Founding Director, Center for Liberation, Anti-Racism, and Belonging
Author, Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress (2022)
Co-Editor, Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600 to 2000
Co-Editor, Unequal Sisters, 5th Edition (forthcoming Routledge Press)

Email: j.wu@uci.edu

• Modern U.S. History
• Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Asian American and Ethnic Studies
• U.S. Militarism in Asia and the Pacific
• Political Activism
• Digital Narratives
• Biography

Kim Östman

Ph.D. (Comparative Religion, Åbo Akademi University), D.Sc. (Microelectronics, Aalto University)
Docent (Study of Religions, Åbo Akademi University)
Principal R&D Engineer, Nordic Semiconductor

Tel: +358 40 829 6192
Email: kim.ostman@abo.fi

• History and Modern Development of Mormonism (esp. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
• Mormon Missionary Work in Europe, incl. 19th-century Emigration to Utah
• Mormonism in Finland, Past and Present
• Polygamy and Fundamentalist Mormons in North America